GAINESVILLE – The top two teams in the country, who both hail from the Sunshine State, were beaten in their district championship game.
But the good news for Orlando Olympia & Lake Worth Park Vista is that it marked the final time they could lose a game and still continue playing baseball. As we head into the first round of the state playoffs on Wednesday and Thursday, both the Titans (25-1) and Cobras (25-2) are still nationally-ranked, but most importantly they are still playing baseball.
Olympia is the top-ranked team in Class 8A and Park Vista dropped to third in theprepzone.com state baseball poll. They’ll have to open up on the road in the FHSAA Regional Quarterfinals but they wouldn’t have to face each other until the state title game.
However, Boca Raton, which defeated Park Vista, 12-4, in the 8A-District 10 championship game, could face Park Vista in a rematch in the regional semifinals on Tuesday, May 5.
While many of the second round games could offer a match-up of top 10 teams, there are some opening round games involving state-ranked teams. In Class 7A, which starts on Thursday, 10th-ranked Buchholz (Gainesville) hosts No. 9 Winter Springs, and in Class 1A, which begins on Tuesday, #9 Chipley travels to #4 Panama City Bozeman, #10 Hilliard is at #3 Mayo Lafayette and sixth-ranked Chiefland is at No. 7 Pierson Taylor.
The Florida high school baseball championships will be held at Jet Blue Park in Fort Myers. The tournament runs Wednesday, May 13 – Saturday, May 16, and Monday, May 18 – Thursday, May 21.
This is the last poll until the final rankings are released after the state finals in late May.
THEPREPZONE.COM STATE BASEBALL POLL – Week #9
ALL-CLASSIFICATIONS
1. Orlando Olympia (8A) 25-1
2. Boca Raton (8A) 22-2
3. Lake Worth Park Vista (8A) 25-2
4. Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas (7A) 20-4
5. Rockledge 25-2 (5A)
6. Lynn Haven Mosley (5A) 24-3
7. Winter Haven (6A) 23-3
8. Haines City (7A) 21-5
9. Kissimmee Osceola (7A) 22-3
10. Venice (6A) 24-3
CLASS 8A
1. Orlando Olympia 25-1
2. Boca Raton 22-2
3. Lake Worth Park Vista 25-2
4. Parkland Stoneman Douglas 21-4
5. Pembroke Pines Flanagan 19-5
6. Miami Columbus 22-5
7. Apopka 21-6
8. Homestead South Dade 18-6
9. Tampa Alonso 21-6
10. Oviedo Hagerty 18-7
Honorable mention: Coral Gables 18-6; Miami Senior 17-8; Cooper City 16-8; Palm Beach Gardens 18-9; Jupiter 18-8; Port St. Lucie Treasure Coast 13-7; Flagler Palm Coast, 16-10; Orlando Dr. Phillips, 16-12; Orlando University, 14-12; Vero Beach 18-8; Bradenton Manatee 18-9; Jacksonville Mandarin 17-8
CLASS 7A
1. St. Thomas Aquinas 20-4
2. Haines City 21-5
3. Kissimmee Osceola 22-3
4. Coconut Creek Monarch 20-3
5. Oviedo 20-5
6. Navarre 19-6
7. Plant City Durant 20-6
8. Lutz Steinbrenner 18-6
9. Winter Springs 21-5
10. Gainesville Buchholz 19-7
Honorable mention: Naples Gulf Coast 19-7; Brandon 17-7; St. Petersburg Northeast 19-8; Hialeah American 16-9; Davie Nova 16-7; Kissimmee Gateway 19-9; Bradenton Lakewood Ranch 17-10; Melbourne 15-7; Tallahassee Chiles 16-10; Sarasota 16-11; Cantonment Tate 21-5; Niceville 16-6
CLASS 6A
1. Winter Haven 23-3
2. Venice 24-3
3. Miami Goleman 21-3
4. St. Johns Creekside 20-4
5. Pembroke Pines Charter 17-4
6. Jensen Beach 19-5
7. Estero 18-9
8. Miami Doral Academy 19-7
9. Tampa Leto 18-8
10. Ocala Forest 20-7
Honorable mention: Port St. Lucie 17-6; Naples Barron Collier 19-7; Deltona 18-10; Seminole Osceola 19-8; Pace 18-8; Lake Wales 21-7; Tampa Hillsborough 16-9; Port Charlotte 17-10; St. Johns Bartram Trail 19-6; Orlando Edgewater 17-7; Hialeah Gardens Mater Academy 15-9; Miami TERRA Institute 19-6; Cape Coral Ida Baker 17-7; Naples 19-8
CLASS 5A
1. Rockledge 25-2
2. Lynn Haven Mosley 24-3
3. Tampa Jesuit 19-8
4. Plantation American Heritage 19-7
5. Southwest Ranches Archbishop McCarthy 22-5
6. New Port Richey River Ridge 18-7
7. Eustis 18-7
8. Live Oak Suwannee 17-7
9. Cape Coral 17-9
10. Brooksville Central 18-10
Honorable mention: Sebring 17-9; Dunedin 22-6; Merritt Island 18-7; Wesley Chapel 20-7; Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons 18-8; Crawfordville Wakulla 16-8; Umatilla 13-7; Brooksville Hernando 17-9
CLASS 4A
1. Delray Beach American Heritage 21-6
2. Fort Myers Bishop Verot 20-6
3. Miami Gulliver Prep 20-6
4. Pensacola West Florida 17-7
5. Ft. Lauderdale Calvary Christian Academy 21-6
6. Pensacola Catholic 17-8
7. Bushnell South Sumter 17-6
8. Orlando Bishop Moore 17-8
9. Jacksonville Trinity Christian 19-8
10. Key West 18-8
Honorable mention: Jacksonville Bolles 18-9; Tampa Catholic 15-11; Pembroke Pines Somerset Academy 19-10; Keystone Heights 19-8; Avon Park 18-8; Ft. Lauderdale Pine Crest 17-8
CLASS 3A
1. Spring Hill Bishop McLaughlin 23-3
2. Fort Myers Canterbury 19-4
3. Miami Westminster Christian 19-7
4. Winter Garden Windermere Prep 18-4
5. Tallahassee North Florida Christian 17-9
6. Sarasota Out-of-Door Academy 20-3
7. Jacksonville Providence 17-9
8. St. Augustine St. Joseph 16-4
9. Lake Worth Trinity Christian 21-6
10. Miami Slam Academy 21-6
Honorable mention: Miami Palmer Trinity 21-4; Largo Indian Rocks Christian 22-5; Palm Beach Gardens Benjamin 20-6; Jacksonville University Christian 17-7; Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic 19-7; Clearwater Calvary Christian 20-7; Sarasota Cardinal Mooney 21-6; Fort Myers Evangelical Christian 18-9
CLASS 2A
1. Deltona Trinity Christian 19-8
2. St. Petersburg Keswick Christian 16-6
3. Belle Glade Glades Day 18-3
4. Sarasota Christian 15-5
5. Naples Seacrest Country Day 14-9
6. Jacksonville Christ’s Church 15-6
7. Brito Miami Private 13-11
8. Quincy Munroe 16-10
9. Vero Beach Master’s Academy 12-8
10. Kissimmee City of Life Christian 13-7
Honorable mention: Ocala St. John Lutheran 18-9; Tampa Bayshore Christian 11-4
CLASS 1A
1. Williston 24-2
2. Bratt Northview 17-2
3. Mayo Lafayette 21-4
4. Panama City Bozeman 23-3
5. Paxton 17-4
6. Chiefland 16-6
7. Pierson Taylor 16-6
8. Graceville 14-8
9. Chipley 15-11
10. Hilliard 17-7
Honorable mention: Milton Central 16-6; Jasper Hamilton County 15-11; Blountstown 19-8; Bristol Liberty County 14-13